Holly Go-Lightly
Alpha Buck
November 13th 2004
Rabbit Welfare Association
PO Box 603
Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 5WL
Dear RWA,
It is with regret that we feel we can no longer be members of the Rabbit Welfare Association. After our experience today, we are seriously disillusioned with your organisation, its aims and priorities.
This is our first year as members of the RWA and in the beginning we were impressed. It is a shame that our opinions are now the polar opposite. We have been discussing how much time we would be able to dedicate to rabbit welfare in the new year and in what fashion. We have a large vehicle so we were considering doing home visits for local rescues. Professionally, we are successful business people and influential public speakers. In order to best serve rabbit welfare we had planned to volunteer as RWA Outreach Officers. We are enthusiastic rabbit welfare advocates and are especially successful at fund-raising.
We are the proud owners of 10 rabbits. This year, we have adopted 2 rabbits from Delia & Jim at Bobtails and another one from Christine at Animal Lifeline. We are, as a result of education and awareness, very keen to support our local rescues with donations and adoptions.
We have a clan of 4 Dutch rabbits who all live together. Unfortunately, when we brought Clio home he had an undiagnosed case of the pasturella virus and therefore infected his fellow pen mates. He later contracted pneumonia and almost died. Karen Smith our vet was fantastic and refused to give up on him. We didn’t either and have been passionate ever since about the preventive health of our rabbits. We know that the virus is very difficult to “cure” and that they will always be susceptible to infection.
When we saw that Francis Harcourt-Brown was speaking at the RWA conference this year on Treatment Issues and Strategies for Chronically Ill Rabbits, we were determined to attend. As you can imagine, it is very difficult to plan in advance when you have 10 rabbits, four of whom are chronically ill! It is my own fault that I did not have a chance to register before the 13th of November but we tried to contact the organiser the day before to no avail.
We decided to drive to Bristol from Gatwick and see if we could still attend as we had not heard that it was sold out. When we arrived at 9:40am we explained to the organiser that we hadn’t booked and we were 10 minutes late, but could we still attend? She was not keen to accommodate us but said yes and that we would have to wait for the break. We thought that was excellent news and said that we were only really concerned if it meant missing Dr Harcourt-Brown. The organiser at this point said that the first session was in progress and that Dr. Harcourt Brown would not be speaking until 10:15am. We were happy to wait until then but the organiser crossed her arms and explained that there was not a scheduled break between speakers and that it would be impossible for us to sit down during the applause at the end of the first session. We could only go in after the scheduled break which was after Frances Harcourt-Brown, the session we drove over 150 miles to see.
We asked if we could go in if anyone got up to use the washrooms, no.
We explained that we had driven 150 miles to attend, no.
We asked if there was anyone else we could prevail upon, no.
At this point we decided it wasn’t worth paying the £150.00 entrance fee and still miss the speaker we wanted to learn from.
She said if we paid we could have the notes but still not attend the session even though it didn’t start for another 30 minutes! We were beginning to wonder who she thought actually attends conferences like this. It’s not like the general public turn up as they wander past the building. People who drive 150 miles to get there and who are willing to pay £150.00 to be there must be the lifeblood of an organisation like the RWA.
We decided to turn around and go home. I asked the organiser if she would be willing to give Dorothy from Dylan’s Friends Sanctuary a gift that we had brought with us for a rabbit she rescued earlier in the year. She looked at us like we had just said we planned to set the building on fire. She was extremely rude and ungracious about the whole episode. I wanted to write a note to Dorothy on the box but she grabbed it and scrawled Dorothy’s name all over it. I asked if I could please leave a quick note and was rewarded with crossed arms, a sigh, a brief nod and an order to my husband to put it over there, PLEASE. It was very upsetting and it was obvious to everyone in the room that if she could think of a way to say no, she would have done.
On our way out the door I asked her a question.
“I’m confused. Why does the RWA, a charity, not want to do everything they can to get as many donations in the form of registration fees as possible?”
The reply has absolutely stunned me.
“The RWA is the sponsor of this conference but the donations are not important because this is a professional event.”
Staggering. I didn’t realise that the RWA were so well off. Especially in light of the fact that they have run a very disturbing advertisement in this months Rabbiting On, (enclosed copy of advertisement). My husband and I could only surmise that they were desperate for funding after we read the ad for a “very large hutch” on page 35. Since when to The RWA advocate hutches with 32”x22”24” dimensions as very large? It is either the slackest piece of advertising sales we have ever seen or the RWA will take what ever it can get from business sponsors but not their own members.
To summarise…
The organiser of the event did not ask us if we were members of the RWA. On that basis it would appear that it doesn’t matter.
We arrived, seeking education and fellowship for the benefit of our 10 rabbits and we were arbitrarily denied in the most jobs-worth fashion. Our rabbits and our education are obviously not a priority to the RWA.
It is clearly a chore to facilitate rabbit owners and rescues/sanctuaries helping each other.
The RWA doesn’t need donations at professional events.
The RWA accept advertisements with information that directly contravenes everything they advocate on their own publications.
What is it then that you actually do?
At this point we fail to see any benefit at all in being a member. We believe your motives and your petty politics to be suspect. We do not see any consistency in your message. Your ambassador is rude and preoccupied with her own importance.
As far as we can see there are two fundamental functions of a charity.
1. To serve and further the purpose for which they exist.
2. To raise sufficient funds so it can continue to exist.
Two things, at which today, the RWA failed spectacularly.
Sincerely,
Andrea & James Harding
____________________________________________________________
James and I have decided to donate our registration fees to Bobtails and Dylans Friends equally. Two charities who actually need donations and are unwavering in their commitment to rabbits and their welfare.
Rabbit Welfare Association
PO Box 603
Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 5WL
Dear RWA,
It is with regret that we feel we can no longer be members of the Rabbit Welfare Association. After our experience today, we are seriously disillusioned with your organisation, its aims and priorities.
This is our first year as members of the RWA and in the beginning we were impressed. It is a shame that our opinions are now the polar opposite. We have been discussing how much time we would be able to dedicate to rabbit welfare in the new year and in what fashion. We have a large vehicle so we were considering doing home visits for local rescues. Professionally, we are successful business people and influential public speakers. In order to best serve rabbit welfare we had planned to volunteer as RWA Outreach Officers. We are enthusiastic rabbit welfare advocates and are especially successful at fund-raising.
We are the proud owners of 10 rabbits. This year, we have adopted 2 rabbits from Delia & Jim at Bobtails and another one from Christine at Animal Lifeline. We are, as a result of education and awareness, very keen to support our local rescues with donations and adoptions.
We have a clan of 4 Dutch rabbits who all live together. Unfortunately, when we brought Clio home he had an undiagnosed case of the pasturella virus and therefore infected his fellow pen mates. He later contracted pneumonia and almost died. Karen Smith our vet was fantastic and refused to give up on him. We didn’t either and have been passionate ever since about the preventive health of our rabbits. We know that the virus is very difficult to “cure” and that they will always be susceptible to infection.
When we saw that Francis Harcourt-Brown was speaking at the RWA conference this year on Treatment Issues and Strategies for Chronically Ill Rabbits, we were determined to attend. As you can imagine, it is very difficult to plan in advance when you have 10 rabbits, four of whom are chronically ill! It is my own fault that I did not have a chance to register before the 13th of November but we tried to contact the organiser the day before to no avail.
We decided to drive to Bristol from Gatwick and see if we could still attend as we had not heard that it was sold out. When we arrived at 9:40am we explained to the organiser that we hadn’t booked and we were 10 minutes late, but could we still attend? She was not keen to accommodate us but said yes and that we would have to wait for the break. We thought that was excellent news and said that we were only really concerned if it meant missing Dr Harcourt-Brown. The organiser at this point said that the first session was in progress and that Dr. Harcourt Brown would not be speaking until 10:15am. We were happy to wait until then but the organiser crossed her arms and explained that there was not a scheduled break between speakers and that it would be impossible for us to sit down during the applause at the end of the first session. We could only go in after the scheduled break which was after Frances Harcourt-Brown, the session we drove over 150 miles to see.
We asked if we could go in if anyone got up to use the washrooms, no.
We explained that we had driven 150 miles to attend, no.
We asked if there was anyone else we could prevail upon, no.
At this point we decided it wasn’t worth paying the £150.00 entrance fee and still miss the speaker we wanted to learn from.
She said if we paid we could have the notes but still not attend the session even though it didn’t start for another 30 minutes! We were beginning to wonder who she thought actually attends conferences like this. It’s not like the general public turn up as they wander past the building. People who drive 150 miles to get there and who are willing to pay £150.00 to be there must be the lifeblood of an organisation like the RWA.
We decided to turn around and go home. I asked the organiser if she would be willing to give Dorothy from Dylan’s Friends Sanctuary a gift that we had brought with us for a rabbit she rescued earlier in the year. She looked at us like we had just said we planned to set the building on fire. She was extremely rude and ungracious about the whole episode. I wanted to write a note to Dorothy on the box but she grabbed it and scrawled Dorothy’s name all over it. I asked if I could please leave a quick note and was rewarded with crossed arms, a sigh, a brief nod and an order to my husband to put it over there, PLEASE. It was very upsetting and it was obvious to everyone in the room that if she could think of a way to say no, she would have done.
On our way out the door I asked her a question.
“I’m confused. Why does the RWA, a charity, not want to do everything they can to get as many donations in the form of registration fees as possible?”
The reply has absolutely stunned me.
“The RWA is the sponsor of this conference but the donations are not important because this is a professional event.”
Staggering. I didn’t realise that the RWA were so well off. Especially in light of the fact that they have run a very disturbing advertisement in this months Rabbiting On, (enclosed copy of advertisement). My husband and I could only surmise that they were desperate for funding after we read the ad for a “very large hutch” on page 35. Since when to The RWA advocate hutches with 32”x22”24” dimensions as very large? It is either the slackest piece of advertising sales we have ever seen or the RWA will take what ever it can get from business sponsors but not their own members.
To summarise…
The organiser of the event did not ask us if we were members of the RWA. On that basis it would appear that it doesn’t matter.
We arrived, seeking education and fellowship for the benefit of our 10 rabbits and we were arbitrarily denied in the most jobs-worth fashion. Our rabbits and our education are obviously not a priority to the RWA.
It is clearly a chore to facilitate rabbit owners and rescues/sanctuaries helping each other.
The RWA doesn’t need donations at professional events.
The RWA accept advertisements with information that directly contravenes everything they advocate on their own publications.
What is it then that you actually do?
At this point we fail to see any benefit at all in being a member. We believe your motives and your petty politics to be suspect. We do not see any consistency in your message. Your ambassador is rude and preoccupied with her own importance.
As far as we can see there are two fundamental functions of a charity.
1. To serve and further the purpose for which they exist.
2. To raise sufficient funds so it can continue to exist.
Two things, at which today, the RWA failed spectacularly.
Sincerely,
Andrea & James Harding
____________________________________________________________
James and I have decided to donate our registration fees to Bobtails and Dylans Friends equally. Two charities who actually need donations and are unwavering in their commitment to rabbits and their welfare.
